Áine latest album "Eve" (May 25, 2018)

In a stirring departure from her past recordings, acclaimed Celtic harpist, vocalist, composer and arranger Aine Minogue will surprise – and soothe – listeners across the world with her new album entitled “Eve.”

A first for Minogue, the album is a compelling compilation of all original music written and composed by the award-winning singer and songwriter. It offers a captivating collection of emotive and expressive songs including “Love’s Sweet Refrain,” “Warrior or Healer,” “Song of the Lark,” “Before the World Was Made” and “The Garden.”

According to Minogue, inspiration for her new album, with its striking vocal, rather than instrumental, prominence, has its origins in what she describes as the “many definitions and varied manifestations of Eve” ranging from an “archetypical version as the mother of humanity or ‘Biblical Eve,’” as Minogue notes, to “a theatrical ‘Hollywood Eve’ version as portrayed by the collage of feminine images in the 1950 Academy Award-winning movie ‘All About Eve.’”

Minogue says that the album’s opening track, which shares the same title as the movie, was written during a viewing of the “exceptional and influential” film and that its lyrics, like those of the other 11 songs, “convey my own experience or relationship with Eve; who she is or what she is, who she may be or what she may be.”

She adds, however, that “the lyrics also enable or encourage, or perhaps empower, listeners, both women and men, to think about or appreciate their own views or beliefs about Eve, as well; who she was or what she was, who she can be or what she can be.”

In a turbulent, at times tumultuous, world, Áine Minogue (On-ya Mi-nohg), renowned Celtic harpist, vocalist, composer and arranger, has created another masterpiece of music to calm and soothe her listeners across the globe.

With the release her fourteenth solo album entitled Celtic Meditation Music: In the Name of Stillness, Minogue weaves together ten mellifluous tracks that, in her words, create a space for "contemplative intention" and a "deepening of the spiritual experience."

In the second of her albums entitled Celtic Meditation Music, Minogue's sublime songwriting is evident from first to final track, which features one vocal and nine instrumental tracks. They include Quiet Absence, Chant of Eternity, and Home of Belonging. Each one, she notes, a "combination of blessing, community, ritual, and intention that are hallmarks of Celtic meditations."

Featuring her masterful play of the harp, and accompanied by gifted musicians on cello, keyboards, oboe, guitar, and clarinet, Minogue's stellar compositions settle, soften, and still ... all, as she says, "drawing from the well of Celtic mystical traditions."

According to Minogue, the title of her new album, and its signature opening song, is borne of a love for the word “stillness” and its manifestations of solitude and silence. “Whether it’s used in meditation or contemplation,” Minogue says, “stillness helps to open or create more space for ‘something else to come in’ … more peace, clarity, balance, serenity, perspective. For me, stillness says it all.”

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Born and raised in Borrisokane, Ireland, Aine Minogue discovered harp at the age of 12 while attending boarding school in County Galway. After completing school, she spent three years developing her incomparable talent as a harpist at Bunratty Castle, one of Ireland's most treasured landmarks and the consummate setting to accentuate the harp's emotional and lyrical connections to Irish history.

Her music, in varying styles including Celtic, World, Folk, Spiritual and New Age, has contributed to numerous soundtracks and compilations with recordings for PBS, BMG, Virgin, Universal, and Warner Bros., as well as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and MTV. Many of her albums have topped Billboard Magazine’s World, New Age and Classical Charts for months at a time.

Minogue has been nominated for several awards for her work as a record producer. Her recordings include Were You at the Rock, To Warm the Winter's Night, The Mysts of Time, Between the Worlds, Circle of the Sun, The Twilight Realm, Celtic Meditation Music, Celtic Pilgrimage, Celtic Lamentations, and Close Your Eyes, Love. She also has collaborated on a series of music videos with filmmaker Michael Yip entitled Winter, A Celtic Meditation.

Recognized for her consummate skill and talent as a harpist, who earned a Master’s Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance from the University of Limerick in Ireland, Áine also possesses a voice that Billboard Magazine has described as one that “wraps around lyrics like a gently windblown satin sheet.”

Aine Minogue’s music is on Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon. You can follow Áine on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Minogue resides in the U.S.

As traditional Irish music and dance continue to enjoy phenomenal success both in the United States and in Ireland, Áine has worked to explore their themes and to understand their very essence. Her voice, though uniquely her own, also reflects the lyricism and richness to be found in Irish music, mythology, and poetry.

Born and raised in Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Áine comes from a large musical family and an environment in which she was encouraged to pursue expertise in a number of different instruments. This broad knowledge of Irish traditional music has underpinned her success in arranging and composing her own music.

Her music can often be heard on the major networks as soundtracks to some of America’s favorite shows. Her album “Celtic Lamentations” was awarded Celtic Album of the Year in 2005 (NAV Lifestyle Awards). Aine's music, in varying styles, has appeared on compilations for such labels as BMG, Decca, Universal, Virgin Records, Windham Hill and Putumayo. Many of these albums have topped Billboard’s New Age and World Music Charts for months at a time.

She has a dozen solo recordings on several labels including RCA Victor/BMG and has been nominated for FIMA awards for her work as a record producer. Her TV production work on “A Winter’s Journey” earned her a New England EMMY ® nomination.

Áine's harp has entertained Presidents and Prime Ministers. She is a regular performer at folk festivals and concerts throughout the US. Her recordings include The Mysts of Time, Between the Worlds, Circle of the Sun, Celtic Meditation Music, Celtic Lamentations, Celtic Pilgrimage, Winter, A Meditation (CD/DVD) and Close Your Eyes, Love.

"She has a fragile, lilting voice that wraps around the mostly Gaelic lyrics like a gently windblown satin sheet." BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

HIGHLIGHTS:

• New England Emmy Nomination (Best Producer) for the TV Special “A Winter’s Journey” (2001) • NAR Lifestyle’s “Celtic Album of the Year” (2005, Celtic Lamentations) • MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance (First Class Honors)(University of Limerick, 2002) • Numerous albums on major and indie labels (www.minogue.com) • FIMA Nominations for record production • Extensive performance resume • Ongoing member of the New England Foundation for the Arts Touring Roster and Education programs (NEST) • Owner and artistic Director of the production company DruidStone• Compilation tracks for labels include Warner Brothers, Universal, BMG, Windham Hill, Putumayo and Narada – many of which remained on the Billboard World Music charts for several months. • Numerous Television soundtracks on NBC, ABC and UPN, The WB and Fox (ongoing); Appearances on PBS soundtracks and videos • Music Videos “Gaire na mBan” and “Goodnight to You” – billboard chartings • Sample Radio Chartings as follows: College (#6 CMJ World Music Chart); NPR; folk/new acoustic; acoustic shows (#4 New Age Radio Charts); world music shows (#6 CMJ New World Music Chart); Celtic (#3 Celtic Music Chart) * Thirteen solo recordings * Collaboration with filmmaker Michael Yip on DVD; 13 short videos on the theme of Winter and meditation.

Press Reviews

Áine Minogue…. A breath of fresh Éire. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Áine Minogue….a balm for our times. BOSTON GLOBE

Musically compelling LA TIMES

Somewhere between listening and dreaming, between classical and folk, between myth and history, you’ll find Aine Minogue’s music WORCESTER GAZETTE

Anyone who’s skeptical of the concept of heaven as a place where eternity is spent listening to harp music should hear this. Áine Minogue proves beyond reasonable doubt why the harp is indeed the instrument of angels. LA TIMES (pick of the week – 4 stars (maximum)

She has a fragile, lilting voice that wraps around the mostly Gaelic lyrics like a gently windblown satin sheet. BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

Áine pushes her art to the edge of her music. She embraces a traditional core and re approaches it, wrapping it in new and exciting clothing. She's a terrific musician, with an uncanny ability to connect with her audience. BRIAN O'DONOVAN, WGBH, BOSTON

... the beauty of her poetry and music evokes images from the misty past celebrating the seasonal feasts of the Celtic world. Her creativity shines.... BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

This Irish harpist combines a hypnotic Celtic spirituality and contemporary sophistication in her playing and delicately lovely singing. BOSTON GLOBE

Minogue’s ethereal voice caresses her Gaelic lyrics like a breeze through Irish mists, but her sound is more organic, mixing her own Celtic harp with acoustic guitars, cello, fiddles, flutes, and percussion from Irish bodhrans to Indian tables.

Áine Minogue is close enough to her Celtic sources to be nourished by them, but not so close that they root her to the spot. BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

Áine Minogue is a most versatile singer and harpist, a craftsman of balance, taste and skill, always conscientious and reasoned, and beautiful in her art. (Review of live show) CELTIC BEAT

Ms. Minogue is at home with love songs sung in Gaelic, the foot-tapping rhythms of jigs, reels, and Irish hornpipes, those plucked from Irish history, and the classical music of the masters. She's at home with Irish music based on the rhythms of Bach, with her own compositions, with the music of contemporary composers, and the music of great Irish composers. SOUTH SHORE NEWS

Minogue has succeeded in stunning audiences with both her harp playing and her angelic voice. THE PATRIOT LEDGER